Five Taliban men get bail in Benazir Bhutto murder case

Bhutto, who had served twice as prime minister in the 1990s, was killed in a gun and bomb attack in 2007 in Rawalpindi after she finished addressing a political rally

Benazir Bhutto. File Pic

A Pakistani high court has granted bail to five suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda militants arrested for their alleged role in the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Bhutto, who had served twice as prime minister in the 1990s, was killed in a gun and bomb attack in 2007 in Rawalpindi after she finished addressing a political rally. Her assassination plunged the country into political chaos and spasms of violence.

The government of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf blamed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baituallah Mehsud for the attack. Mehsud had denied the charges. However, police arrested Abdul Rashid, Aitzaz Shah, Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul and Sher Zaman and claimed that they were active members of TTP for their alleged role in the killing.

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) acquitted the five in its verdict of August 31, 2017, but they were not set free due to alleged links with militants. A two-member Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court comprising Justice Mirza Waqas and Justice Sardar Serfraz granted bail to the five suspects on surety bonds worth Rs 5,00,000 (Rs 2.9 lakh) each.

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